A milestone Year For The Klondike Road Relay
It’s one of the most-epic logistical and athletic feats to be pulled off in the Yukon and Alaska. Over 300 volunteers are recruited. Approximately 1,800 runners make their way from Skagway to Whitehorse every year. Only the pandemic in 2020 could stop this much-anticipated annual event. And in 2023, the Klondike Road Relay (KRR) is turning 40.
The relay was started by the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon, to attract visitors in 1983. A few years later, it was taken over by Sport Yukon, who have been running it ever since. For four decades, teams of 10 people have covered the 175-kilometre course. Legs range in distance from 10 kilometres of steep uphill to White Pass Summit, a 25-kilometre leg through the wee hours into Carcross, and a 14-kilometre “princess leg” from Carcross to Emerald Lake.
There have been a few small adjustments in the relay over the years; for example, in checkpoint locations. Other more-significant changes have made the event accessible to a greater number of people. A scaled-back version of the relay was started for youth a few years ago. Beginning in 2022, the modified race became an option for adults as well. These races start from Carcross, and runners complete half-legs, which are “a little bit more achievable for some people than running the full legs,” KRR race director Liz Butler explained.
Teams of friends, co-workers and competitive athletes return, year after year. Individuals who have run all 10 legs (and there have been about 300 of them) have their names engraved on the Senators Cup. The award was established by former Yukon Senator Dan Lang as a way of recognizing people who’ve tackled the entire 175-kilometre course.
The fact that so many people run the relay, multiple times, makes it difficult to say how many runners in total have participated, Butler said. The majority of participants are Yukoners, with about one-third of them being from outside—mostly Alaskans, with a few folks from other parts of the U.S. and Canada.
For the fortieth running of the relay, participants can expect several anniversary-themed touches in the race. Event merchandise including T-shirts, toques, as well as the label on the KRR’s very own Yukon Brewing beer, will feature a design celebrating the milestone year. There may be decade-themed checkpoints, for example with volunteers dressed in 80s-style clothing, or speakers playing 90s music.
“The KRR is a part of Yukon history, and our goal this year is to have our runners feel that they’re a part of that history,” Butler said.
The celebratory event will also feature the “iconic” race announcer Steve Fleck, who will energize and elevate the crowd at the finish line.
“He’s probably the premier endurance-race announcer for the whole of Canada,” Butler said of Fleck.
“It makes a really big difference to the finish line, having someone there who can make it seem really exciting every time someone crosses the finish line, and really tying in the person who crosses the finish line with the crowd.”
Fleck will also be doing a workshop for Yukoners who would like to brush up on their announcing skills and learn “how to bring together all the parties at the finish line and how to make that finish line super exciting.”
The post-race festivities will include the Party in the Park on September 9 in Rotary Park. The party will serve up the awards ceremony, beer garden, food trucks, vendors and games. Every race participant will receive a “wooden nickel” worth five dollars towards anything at the party, such as merch or beer.
Teams can register online until August 26. Butler says registration is already at around 60 per cent and she expects it to sell out. The relay is run over two days, September 8 and 9.
To register or volunteer, visit the KRR website: klondikeroadrelay.com
